Shabbat, Purim, and What Makes You Happy

I was reading this week’s column by Rabbi Kalman Packouz and found a few points that might actually apply to those of us who are “Hebraically-aware Gentiles.” He was discussing Purim (which begins this Wednesday evening at sunset) and Happiness, but I’ll start with something about Shabbat.

R. Packouz’s Dvar Torah for this coming Shabbos is based on a small portion of Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book Growth Through Torah (which I own and highly recommend):

The Torah states:

“Six days you shall work and on the seventh day, it should be a complete rest sacred to the Almighty” (Exodus 31:15)

What does it mean “a complete rest”?

Rashi, the great commentator, tells us that rest on Shabbat should be a permanent rest and not merely a temporary rest. Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, the former Rosh Hayeshiva (Dean) of the Mir Yeshiva, clarifies that a temporary rest means that a person has not really changed his inner traits, but he merely controls them on Shabbat. He still has a bad temper and has a tendency to engage in quarrels, but because of the elevation of Shabbat, he has the self-discipline not to manifest these traits. The ultimate in Shabbat observance is that a person should uproot those negative traits which are contradictory to peace of mind on Shabbat. One needs to uproot such traits as anger and the tendency to quarrel with others. Only then is your rest on Shabbat a complete rest.

It is not sufficient for a person just to refrain from the formal categories of creative acts on Shabbat. Shabbat is the gift of peace of mind. This is not considered righteousness, but an essential aspect of Shabbat. Only by being a master over your negative emotions can you have true peace of mind.

I know the Shabbat can be one of the many “touchy points” between Jews and Gentiles in the Messianic and Hebrew Roots communities. If you are of the belief (as am I) that all of the parts of the Torah apply exclusively to the Jewish people and only certain portions can be said to apply to the rest of humanity, then you are left with the question of what should a Gentile do for Shabbat (if anything at all)?

I know all the arguments (I think). Hashem sanctified (made Holy) the Seventh Day and “rested” on it (God doesn’t get tired so He doesn’t “rest” in the conventional sense). If the Sabbath was created well before the Torah was given, how can it be a “Jewish-only” thing?

But then there’s the fact that the Sabbath is a sign of the Sinai Covenant which was indeed given exclusively to the Children of Israel. Yes, the “mixed multitude” was there, but in receiving the Covenant, they became permanent residents within Israel and on the third generation, their descendants were absorbed into the tribes. No, there’s no leverage for saying Gentiles received the Torah at Sinai as well.

However, Isaiah 56:1-8 famously declares that “foreigners who keep from profaning the Shabbat…will be made joyful in Hashem’s House of Prayer” (Holy Temple in Jerusalem).

So how do those two contradictory viewpoints resolve?

It’s been suggested that how a Jew and Gentile approach the Shabbat has fundamental differences. A Jew observes the Shabbat while a Gentile merely recognizes its holiness. But what does that mean?

R. Packouz’s Dvar Torah may have given us an inadvertent clue (it’s doubtful he was writing to people like me). In his commentary on Purim, he spoke of the “secret to happiness,” saying in part:

People often think that the secret of happiness must be some hidden Kabbalistic mystery or exotic activity. The truth is that it’s simple and easy to understand. It’s something every person knows, but just doesn’t focus that he knows it.

Happiness is the pleasure you have in appreciating what you have; it is looking at the glass as half full. It says in Pirke Avot 4:1 (“Ethics of Our Fathers” — found in the back of most Jewish prayerbooks), “Who is the rich man? He who is happy with his portion”. There used to be a common motivational sign during the Depression hanging in businesses in the United States: “I was sad that I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.”

Happiness is not dependent upon material acquisition. There are plenty of people who have what you desire and they are not happy.

In my opinion, we “Hebraically-aware Gentiles” were never given the full set of Torah observances were the Jews (Acts 15 backs me up), so a lot of us have gone through what I call “Torah envy.” We want what the Jews have and some folks out there go right ahead and claim it for themselves through one process or another.

But according to the Sages, who is rich? He (or she) who is happy with their lot. That is, it’s very possible to be happy and not have everything someone else has and in fact, even if you had it, that possession might not make you happy.Going back to R. Pliskin, the character and nature of any given Jewish person doesn’t change on the Shabbat. The person with a bad temper still has a bad temper. However, in honor of the Shabbat, he/she choses not to express it (in Judaism, some believe Hashem grants the Jew an additional “soul” on the Shabbat). Even more, you can use the sanctity of the Shabbat to learn to permanently “uproot” negative traits and generally become a better person over time.

If the non-Jew was not given the Shabbat relative to all of the specific observances, we can still choose to honor God as Creator of the Universe (and all human beings were created by Hashem) by “elevating” ourselves and choosing to be a little happier than we are the rest of the week or even choosing to become better people over time. We can take the life we’ve been given (not everyone can be Jewish) and appreciate what we have been granted by God rather than bemoaning our state as a non-covenant people. After all, through our devotion to Rav Yeshua and by his merit, we have been granted many of the blessings of the New Covenant without being named recipients.

23 thoughts on “Shabbat, Purim, and What Makes You Happy”

I’m one of those Hebraically aware Gentiles, who enjoyed your post, However, I also take very seriously that “ALL” scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness 2 Timothy 3:16. with that in mind…if God said the Sabbath was holy and we are to keep it, then we are to keep the Sabbath…I believe He understands the Gentiles whose long standing tradition has moved the “sabbath” to the 1st day instead of the 7th.

I am beginning to think that there is a bit more to holding fast to the Covenant than just giving lip service to it…noticing the Shabbatim and the Moedim, but little more. The further I progress in my studies and the more I dig into the details of the prophecies that discuss our ‘eternal reward’, the more I am seeing that the better you cling to the Mosaic Covenant, the closer you are to Yeshua…in proximity, in rank, in blessings…during the Messianic Kingdom; and after the Earth is changed, when Abba comes again to walk in the evenings of the day…but only in the New Jerusalem.

We Gentiles have to remember that we have no portion in the Renewed Covenant if we do not hold the Mosaic Covenant in high honor because the Renewed Covenant is written onto the hearts and minds of those who trust in Yeshua, and who have taken hold of the Mosaic Covenant already. You cannot get something renewed if you do not have what is old. Believers in Yeshua have the infilling of the Ruach haKodesh, but that is to change us to what G-d wants us to be, if we will allow the changes to be made in us by acting in the ways that G-d desires. I cannot see Abba wanting anything that is not the best for his children, even his children of the Nations, but YHVH has set the qualifications down in the Scriptures he has given for our benefit, and made clear what actions get what consequences.

Do you want blessings? Obey G-d. It’s not complicated, and we have had 3400 years of seeing G-d demonstrate the cause and effect of obedience, and the lack of it, in the trials and tribulations of the Israelites and Judeans. Christianity has mostly lost track of this fact, and Messianic Believers are reluctant to open the discussion of what the Acts 15 decree intended, for it was neither a license to settle for minimal fellowship, nor a command to convert.

The Acts 15 Decree was not the end of the matter, but the beginning…for the Gentile Believers to sit under the teaching of Moshe in the Synagogues, to fellowship with the Jews, and learn how to obey G-d in the best of circumstances. Even Sha’ul’s warning that you become subject to the Mosaic Covenant’s requirements in converting to Judaism was not anything but a statement of fact. It was not about losing salvation in Yeshua, or disrespecting Yeshua’s redemption since the Mosaic Covenant wasn’t about salvation. It was about needing to go full out as a convert, or to not convert at all.

Believers who are ‘saved’ and tiptoe around the edges of the Covenant do not undergo the White Throne Judgment but are not guaranteed a place near Yeshua either. Non-believers who are kind and generous to the ‘least of these my brethren’ enter into the Olam haBa too. Much as people want to avoid the fact, the 5 wise Virgins go into the Chamber of the Bridegroom, but the foolish ones do not, and Yeshua’s Bride is not the ‘church’, but the New Jerusalem.

Unwise Believers in Yeshua’s Grace don’t make the cut for being able to enter the New Jerusalem and if they are not in outer darkness in the Olam haBa, they are blessed only according to their works over and above the salvation from the Lake of Fire, whereas Unbelievers just don’t get burned up as their works are tested. The restrictions for who enters the New Jerusalem are plain, and just being ‘saved’ does not get you into that very special place.

The saved, but half-hearted Believers are not able to enter into the New Jerusalem as citizens, and perhaps not at all. And as I contemplate this in the dark reaches of the night, I find I want to be nearer to Yeshua than a mere gentle reverence for YHVH’s Shabbatim and Moedim might obtain for me.

I know from Isaiah 56 that I do not ‘need’ to convert to any official form of Judaism…at least from the Jewish point of view, particularly since I have no interest in living in the Israel of today. G-d says he will treat me as his own child if I cling as tightly to the Mosaic Covenant as I can learn to do.

Thus, I think it might be better to take hold of all the Torah that is not specifically in regard to entry into the inner portions of the Temple (past the partition that keeps the Gentiles in the outer courts), and study to improve the tightness of my ‘clinging’ to the Mosaic Covenant in the hope that I will be admitted to the inner sanctum for eternity. After all, if you are not keeping the Mosaic Covenant at least as a Ger Tsaddik, living within the gate, so to speak, and acting like it, in the Olam haBa you are in between the Outer Darkness, and the Light in the New Jerusalem…being neither fish, nor fowl nor good red herring.

That is acceptable to me only if that is all that G-d planned for me to be able to access…if that in-between status is all I as a Gentile can get. However, I don’t see that kind of limitation in Isaiah 56. Abba is not leaving those who really do ‘study to show themselves approved’ outside of the New Jerusalem, or why would he open his arms to those that take hold of the covenant and obey it as his sons and daughters? Unfortunately, I do not see Yeshua’s grace of itself getting me more than an occasional visitor’s pass into the one place I want to be once the Messianic Kingdom is in the past, and the Earth is remade.

If there is more to be had from the riches of G-d’s grace if I will apply myself, then I should apply myself…not in acting Jewishly, or keeping the Levitical laws, but in obeying all that is written in the Scriptures that I can do, not for my salvation, which I have in Yeshua, but for my reward…by doing those works that Christian Believers too often overlook in their joy and relief at having ‘grace’. The only way to have more than what Yeshua’s blood gains us as our Goel is by taking on Yeshua’s light yoke, which does not have any indication of being other than what is written in the Scriptures. It is not burdensome, and we have to stop thinking that it is.

A few points. The original language really does indicate “New” as opposed to “Renewed” Covenant. It’s not new in the sense that the Torah was replaced by the “law of grace” as the mainstream Church teaches, but it is new due to the fact that it’s written internally on the human heart as opposed to it being an external standard. In New Covenant days we will *know* Hashem and even the least in the Kingdom will have an apprehension of Hashem greater than did John the Baptist.

Exactly how the Torah is applied on the Gentile vs. Jewish heart maybe be a matter of how the conditions are applied, and while it will be natural for New Covenant Jews and Gentiles to obey Hashem, exactly what that obedience entails may not be identical between Israel and the nations.

Obedience may be simple in conceptualization, it’s difficult in action especially over the long haul. Obviously opinions vary as to what is required of the non-Jewish disciple in Rav Yeshua and I suspect our opinions regarding Acts 15 may not line up with each other. That’s fine since human interpretation of theology and applied doctrine also flexes quite a bit, both within normative Christianity and the various branches of observant Judaism.

It is said that when Messiah returns, one of the things he will do (as he did the first time) is correctly interpret the Torah. I take that to mean he will do so both for Israel and the nations so that we all, including the somewhat fractured Messianic Jewish and Hebrew Roots movements, will *know* rather than relying on our own interpretation or some authority.

James, I do not expect to be agreed with, or even to convince anyone of what I am doing as being good for anyone else. I only know what I am experiencing, what I see as being desired by G-d, and need to tell someone who might be sensing a bit of the same things. Clinging to the Mosiac Covenant for NOW is needed, at least in the simplest most direct way, so that we can be seeking to please G-d…not anyone else.

It will not do to keep simply saying, “Yeshua will make everything right in the future”…we are living now, and need to do more now to be obedient…not in the Orthodox sense, but the simple Biblical sense, to be blessed now, and in the future.

I live alone, I know no one near who even cares for these things. Messianic Jews and Gentiles are very thin on the ground in SoCal, probably because we have so much distance between everything physically, so who is there to consult? I am not talking about Orthodox Halacha or any halacha, but actually reading the commandments, and marking out those that I can do.

I don’t need anyone’s Halacha because I don’t live with anyone to agree with them over it…but I still read carefully books on how to do life Jewishly…just so I can throw out everything that is culturally Jewish, and take the outline for life and the habit patterns. The prayers do not need to be rewritten for me, even though I am not formally Jewish, as I have some Jewish heritage by blood, and can say the prayers that fit and change the few that don’t. But I am talking about following the written commandments, not being Orthodox…and I think that is what Isaiah 56 points to, since the Torah in Isaiah’s times was simply, but carefully kept.

Why do we not simply read the Scriptures and follow them? Why are we putting off what can be done? That is the question I keep coming up against, and with a great weight on me to do more than I have been doing to attempt to please G-d. I don’t expect to succeed at much, but I expect G-d to notice I am trying, and to help me change to what he wants me to be and do.

And since it is the Ruach haKodesh that has been keeping me up in the reaches of the night, I think I had better pay attention. And if I am receiving this call, I think others might want to take notice, and ask G-d…”Is that meant for me too?”

I can understand what you’re saying, Q. (whether I agree with it or not, and I actually think the Holy Spirit leads us to do better than to obey Torah… but that it gives us clues and direction — and this is in part why Jewish Halacha isn’t exactly what’s in the Bible… yet I, too, am not saying all people have to follow Halacha). I simply want to add that if anyone is in a situation where there is abuse it would be a sad shame to fear, for instance, that they won’t be near Yeshua if they don’t obey a parent of that sort. I would figure you agree with that; just thought it needed saying.

As I’ve said before, the halachah police aren’t going to be kicking in your door because of your observance so you do what’s right for you. In the end, Rav Yeshua will iron out all of our little wrinkles I suspect.

Peace be to all and a good health.
Hello guys, can not anyone still understand our information on the already prepared Plan made by God which was only written by A. Paul, A. John and others for this Parousia Period or the 2nd Advent of Christ for the guidelines use in updating of our knowledge faith believe! Its because there is no other alternative that they can use to substitute to the sacred Covenant Plan of God, for it is the only means that God can do to put the world under the Spiritual Covenant Agreement not to him but to his Son’s Spirit! And this is between you and God that have made up of your Covenant Agreemant! So, who so ever that oppose, ignore or rejected it or did not completely accomplish their Covenant Commitment to God it was themselves that make their own condemnation! Which many of the people of the world did not get it, that who ever have hold and read the Gospel book of Yeshua M. they were already under oath of Agreement Covenant with God! And this is also the format in the Parousia Period for not knowing the Word is God and the Word of God is the Gospel Book! So thou made your Covenant Agreement directly with God!

And frankly speaking, this was the reason’s why the Chosen Israelites are in limited in numbers that was saved by Yeshua M. in Rev. 14:1-5, and that is about the 144,000 Chosen Israelites in the 2000yrs. Set Period of this Messianic Covenant or Christianity. And this is because of the very hard requirement order that was imposed in the full observance believe to this Promise Covenant Salvation of God. Which the world religion do not know or maybe yes but don’t like to follow, or they them selves could not do it! And these are those Major Requirement: firstly, if they love their mother and father more than me. Thou can not be my disciple! And the second, if thou love your wife, son and daugther more than me. Thou can not be my disciple also! Thirdly, if thou could not put your selves into rest of your work, thou could not also enter into my Eternal Rest! And this is not a new teachings, for this was already written advices by A. Paul since 1st Century in Heb. 3:1-18, as an introduction and continue to in Heb. 4:1-16, and in to this rest order to the Israelites they mostly comes short in to full compliance of their faith believe observance to Yeshua M.. And we do not also see this as a required teachings in all the religion of the world. When this was already proclaimed teachings of Yeshua M. and was only elaborated very well by A. Paul, so to be easily understood by his countrymen at their time! And this was also required in this our Ultimate Period for our full allegiance to Yeshua M. Believers. Anyway, we are all very near to our end, so its not very hard to comply to this order for this is also a big support to your claim faith believe is really true to Yeshua M. which is the main major context in the order to believe only to Yeshua M. by every beliver in this New Covenants Plan of God. So whatever thou have suggested or advices will not be enough without knowing and complying to this requirement of resting to work as order to every faith believers to Yeshua Messiah!
May our living lord God Bless u all.

That’s sort of true, that there’s not a halakha police (at least not kicking in your door), but sort of (or maybe) not true overall. And said lack of being true is in addition to/besides the fact that what Questor was appealing to or describing in terms of what motivates him isn’t concerned with temporal repercussions or consequences (at least in theory or, as you said, conceptualization)… other than a feeling of drive that might be missed if not acted upon regularly.

There is probably not much more we can say in this context about what will happen in the Millennial Kingdom or after (as Questor anticipates). And I liked what you (James) said about “knowing” and the heart (I believe the heart is initiated now). But I’ll go ahead and bring a few thoughts to greater momentary consciousness. I won’t try to go into detail as to how Orthodox halakha (including for non-orthodox Jews, especially in Israel) really effects people’s current lives. Most people, when they deal with others who think of themselves as doing the right thing or who pretend to be religious, are dealing with non-Jewish settings (even if they themselves are Jewish).

So, I ask what people think… are we to approach life as Yeshua did, unto death and extreme suffering (which would call into question what I said in my previous post… except that Yeshua isn’t thought of as in ministry until mature adulthood)? Or is everything supposed to go peachy for you if you’re in God’s will — or — just not matter now, so everyone is behaving acceptably (no matter how obedient or submissive they are or aren’t)? In these ways, we know we can do whatever we see as fit — and we will not encounter any “police” in life?

This is a very U.S. point of view. Where we are, a little bit not aware. Halakha (not Jewish) will kick in if you are an abused woman who seeks a divorce or separation and your husband (so-called) enlists a fundamentalist or conservative Christian lawyer. I think, in fact, there are real results in life (sometimes unjust results handed out by and through people who think or imagine or pretend they stand for God’s will). Clearly, the last sentence indicates I don’t think everything goes peachy or even necessarily close… as if just desserts are always the norm. But Questor wasn’t talking about dealing with people. And you were mainly talking about holidays and satisfaction (happiness with what you’re doing); it is, indeed, a good thing people can legally observe holidays or commemorations as they choose (if there is peace in the home).

I used family illustrations, as they can be somewhat easily accessed in understanding (although there is stubbornness in not allowing understanding often anyway). There are also general business, legal, political/ideological, economic aspects (which can turn domestic or home life topsy-turvy too) in the overall culture, a culture that largely goes with the peachy psychological magic version of life and being supposedly a Christian or godly nation (this the almost unquestionable peachiness)… but, of course, there is a split personality to the Christian peachiness. Everything’s great (the system works and dead suspects are assumed guilty or deserving and so on, for example) but also everything is so horrible we should hate government and/or buy guns. (I mention these as examples off the top of my head because halakha is about all of life as originally envisioned, yet can not really cover all of life.) I suppose I struggle (as did Questor) with holding halakha or a way of life to commemorations… or imagining that we Americans really do that either (while we are quite absent-minded as a group rather than acknowledging, for all, we don’t live in an ideal world). Nevertheless, for the sake of one blog thread I do agree. And I’d say I’m agreeing with both you and Questor. One might choose or invent all kinds, manors, mixtures, reductions, etc. of special observances in the U.S.

As of late, I criticize the Bible in mythic terms, because I think that only myth is large enough to encompass the problems it engenders through its silence. Campbell certainly thought myth was bigger than religion, encompassing all of society and existing prior to and outside any religion. And I think religion itself is bigger than the pedantry of theology, leaving theology the smallest slice. Unfortunately, most people argue about something so vast under the narrow straits of theology and I think we serve ourselves ill when we do. Humans don’t need logical proofs. Humans need identity and a Why that ties into it.

I don’t think most people know why they do the things they do. Motivations. Hamster wheels. Advertising and consumerism. Sometimes I would include myself in that as well. Or maybe it’s that our subconscious does know our true motivations but we suffer from aphasia when speaking to it. I think most religious people don’t always know what compels them either. But I don’t think it is simple “Torah envy.” When gentiles wash up on the shores of synagogues, they are attracted to the whiff of what they used to have before their ancestors were taught they were gentiles. They are attracted to the idea of a deity that pens them into the story, a deity that cares intimately with what they do, a deity that fleshes out their collective identity, a deity that offers legitimacy over chance, and a deity that reveals an OS to the society at large. And for most people who knock on synagogue doors “just wanting to worship G-d in the proper way,” they are acting out a very ancient impulse in all human worship. They see reflected in Torah something that they once possessed.

The unconscious is a very powerful force.

I’m sure those folks genuinely “think” or “believe” they want Torah broadly construed – but they don’t want Torah. I would say 75% of the gentile castaways in MJ don’t really want Torah. They think they do but they don’t. What they really want is something more universal, which is a G-d-ordered religion/family/state all rolled into one. That model was true for thousands of years of time it it’s something we’ve kneaded into our collective dough as humanity. And there it still inheres. And although modernity can attempt to erase it, gentiles of all stripes and strata will return to shuls with an impulse they cannot articulate.

This is why I think paradigms that express this problem of “Jewish envy” ill serve the discussion. The issue is larger and more universal than the situation of the Jewish people, and so I’m not quite certain the jealous siblings catch-all is really adequate for this landscape. Consider the endless health controversy over the status of eggs. “Are eggs healthy?
Are they a bane? I don’t know! Hurry up and decide! I have to eat breakfast!” A concerned consumer is frustrated by envy, but the urgency of life grinding up against answers that aren’t forthcoming. Case in point: if a gentile does not know how to order a society, family, or state based on the mandatory reading of someone else’s myth, his frustrations are not borne out of envy; they are borne out of settling for someone else’s myth and having limited time to apply it to himself. “I have to eat breakfast! I have to raise my kids! I have to ____!”

I don’t think one can read someone else’s myth forever without either rejecting it or forming false connections to it. It’s inevitable.

Most gentiles in synagogues don’t want Torah. They think they want it, but they don’t. And they disregard the persecution, death, and dire responsibility it brings. Rather, such gentiles want the old world order, and Judaism is the last vestige of it. Most synagogue authorities are right to re-direct them back to church, but they are kidding themselves if they think that’s a long-term answer.

As for James, his stoicism is admirable, and he’s become something of a hero to me. Be that happy warrior. While it is unnerving to consider that the only connection I have to G-d and Messiah is what I think about them on any given day, I suppose things could be much worse.

@Marleen: I don’t know if we have to play to either extreme. I do agree that God doesn’t promise a “peachy” life and for some it’s downright torturous. Consider Christians and Christian missionaries in nations where being Christian is illegal. On the other hand, it doesn’t mean that every believer *must* suffer horribly in order to serve God. Each of us has our own “calling” if you will, so I believe what is required of each individual believer will vary, sometimes greatly. Of course, none of this addresses Questor’s concerns relative to a Gentile performing what would be considered Jewish praxis.

@Sleepwalker: Me a hero? Well thanks, but believe me, I’m a pretty flawed human being. Oh by the way, what sort of Purim costume were you wearing in those photos on Facebook? 😀

Questor wasn’t only concerned about Jewish praxis, James; He was talking about obedience to Bible [like fully — and only — including, granted, reading about Judaism to specifically not do those things, which is a bit idiosyncratic, but I guess he’s sort of gung ho whatever direction he goes]. I was responding to (and, like I said, would suppose he’d agree with that first response to) his obey-the-bible aspect… and not only his. I think Sleepwalker picked up on and amplified what I was addressing. Most Christian teachers and tribalists (which apparently to an extent that we wouldn’t be able to quantify includes some Messianics as well as a coalition otherwise-identifying) don’t think through what they’re saying or doing. The result is whoever wins in the world wins, god-ordained (which is blesphemous). I have no reason to include Questor in those teachers. We discuss, here, larger cultural tendencies. Now, it’s a question that matters and has further implications whether an abused child can disobey [or not]. There are folks who aren’t generally inclined toward *Torah* but who drill down on “the ten” commandments or (“scripture”). If there are ten (I imagine Patricia’s reason for “understanding” gentiles’ adhering to a different day when they are commanded) and maybe a few more from somewhere, “disobeying” one of them is interesting. [She might be a little more like Questor than like, for instance… well, I won’t name a denomination of sabbatarians. We dont know; the point is the thinking process, not only of formal institutions. (And we know it’s not only sabbatarians per se who push a sabbath, but that core will be used as an excuse to “authority” and your own lack.)]

I like this idea of being happy with your lot and seeking to honor God in it. I think Paul calls it being “content.” I want that.

Incidentally, my grandmother recently did one of those things where they test your blood or whatever and can tell you where you’re from. (I think 23andMe). She discovered that she has some Jewish roots. Tiny ones, but they are present. This is hugely interesting to me and I want to do the test myself. My mind is already spinning with what this could mean for me.

There’s what it might mean from God’s perspective vs. what modern Judaism would consider it. Below a certain level, according to Jewish law, you wouldn’t be considered Jewish. That said, you could still convert, but then you’d be asked to renounce any other faith including devotion to Jesus.

Now, as far as what God might consider, you could have a closer look at what it means to be from the tribes. I’m not suggesting adopting a Jewish praxis as such, but in the resurrection who is to say that God wouldn’t consider you part of Israel. I can’t say one way or another but it’s something to think about.

Peace be to all and a good health.
Hello guys, we do not know if how do they really understand the prophesy in the OT regarding the writing into their heart the Laws of Moses? Because this was a Promise Covenant to the Covenantal people and this was fulfilled only to all the Chosen Covenantal Israelites and no to all the unqualified Israelites to the Messianic Covenant and to those literal gentiles they were all already condemn judged by Yeshua M. ever since 1st Century in Mt. 25:31-41, to avoid the problem in interferring to the Covenant Plan of God. And this writings into their heart the laws of Moses which Yeshua M. have already said, that he is not to destroy the laws and the prophet but to fulfill it. But the people misunderstood him because what Yeshua meant in this observance of these laws is to applied it with a much transcend observance. And this were some of the example in Mt. 5:20-22, 23-24, 25-26, 27-28, 29-30, 31-32, 33-37, 38-39, 40-42, 43-45, 46-48, and the other observance to other gospel book.

And about the very hard requirement order to all the believer of Yeshua M. in the Messianic Covenant Period to rest in their work and this will proves their true faith to Yeshua M. which many readers of the gospel book did not know that God have a promise support to those that will comply to this order in Mt. 6:25-34 (read them for its a concluding challenge of God, if they were a true believer). And in this kind of observance is also required in this Parousia Period or the 2nd Advent, that one can improve their character development into becoming a holy one, almost like the father who is holy. And this is very similar to A. Paul writings in Heb. 9:28, that Christ will appear to those without sin or holy! So, the sabbath rest observance is only a temporary effect but the order of rest is much more a proof to everyone proclaiming to have faith in Yeshua M.. And what for to the richman who have also observe the whole 10 Commandments, and yet Yeshua M. ordered him to sell and give it to the poor and also with the other disciple! Who among all those world major religion have taught this requirement order? By the way, this order is all in the God Plan.
May our living lord God Bless us all.

Peace be to all and a good health.
Hello guys, this is only a basic simple knowledge but its now a big problem we observed in the many comment of this blog, were the used of many improper application of the biblical terms were not in accordance to the period of its application. And this maybe because of improper reading of the H. Bible and of the NT book by not analyzing the Book Title and its context. When everybody knows that the Bible is a Covenant/Testament and the context of the NT book is the promise Covenant of salvation of God to the seeds of Avraham which were the covenantal Israeli people. Which was applied in the 1st Major Covenant Division in the Plan of God with a subtitle as the Last Day Covenant or the Days of the Lord Judgment (this term was corrupted by removing the “judgment” word but this was intact in 1Pet. 3:13-14, read it). and this alloted 2days in God count set date period or 2000 years in our conversion that begun in the 1st Century and took end since 1993! And the teaching of nativity up to crucifixion were all in figurative parable fiction story, but they taught it in true to life story that resulted to idolatry.

And here are some examples of quotations they still use up to date which were not applicable now! Because the OT Covenant Period already took end and even the Messianic Covenant Period. And these are the qoluotations Mt 5:19 note the word “whosoever,” which is a Testamented word refering to the Covenantal Israeli but others generalized it. So with Mt. 28:19, this was now used by all the religion which is in the Proper Noun context. And Acts 15: 1-25, the mention gentile here denotes to the Covenantal 10 North Kingdom of Israel which were still separated to the House of Judah at that time. So no conversion to the literal gentiles. Because of the Exclusivity of the Messianic Covenant to the Israelites while all the literal gentile nation were all already condemn judged by Yeshua M. since 1st Century in Mt. 25:31-41, since he sit in his throne glory! While other still using it and even the OT prophesy like Isa. 56:1-8 ff, this prophesy of Isaiah is only a reminder of how the sabbath was being observed in the OT Period with ritual prayers and sacrifices that which is not applicable in the Messianic Period. While others insist this term foriegner or stranger to apply in the Messianic Period which have no relation at all. And also will contradict to the New Covenant Plan of God.

And the true teaching about the literal gentile believer, they were also bless in their literal lives in the Messianic Period like in Mt. 15:24-28, its about serophonesian woman whose daughter was cured by Yeshua M. but there is no promised of salvation there! So, with those gentile believers that were only maybe hired as servant or a household helper of the messianic disciple and still there is no promised of salvation. Because the New Covenant Plan of God was very specific and very definite in the orders. And for the record, read Rev. 14:1-5, only those Chosen Covenantal Israeli believe to Yeshua M. and not any single gentile is among them. And after this transition, the truth that only those still remaining alive original messianic of Yeshua M. religion were only the holy people and the rest of the people of the world were all unqualified to Yeshua M. or sinners!

Since we are all now in this Parousia Period or the Hour Judgment of God that already begun in 1994, which God have also made a prepared Plan for the sake of all the sinners (these were those Leftseeds Israeli and the literal gentiles) for their guidlines in compliance to this Covenant Will. And to those gentiles that like or willing to avail to this Promise Salvation Last Call of God, 1Tes. 4:10-18. And we have already shared an explanation to this concluding End Time Plan of God in this blog. But frankly speaking, in this Ultimate Covenant Plan of God, God will only save those that are holy read Heb. 9:28, 2Pet. 3:13-14, 1Tes. 4:16-17 & Rev. 7:9-18. And this is unlike in the Messianic Period that Yeshua seek those sinners in the Household of Israel because they have a long alloted set period of time, to the reason that a sin of anyone takes time before it can be fully cleanse. For in this Parousia Period the End Time is very innivitable anytime. For God can shorten the set period or God can apply it at the set date period?
May our living lord God Bless us all.